When it comes to The Amazing Race Asia, there is an unspoken pressure for Pamela, 24, and Vanessa, 29, to bring home the top prize. Yes, both Malaysians realize that there is a lot riding on them to perform well, since the winners of the inaugural The Amazing Race Asia were Malaysian and also an all female team!

But trumping nationalistic pride is a simple matter of family pride as well. Four years ago, their brother, Vince, proved to be a winner by emerging victorious over 11 others in a nationwide reality singing competition. Not taking home this trophy would probably make their participation a topic of conversation (and not in a flattering way) for every family gathering in the future.

Artiste manager Vanessa, who now manages her brother's rising singing career, recalls that watching their brother win formed one of the high points in her life. But aside from price, there are also other factors that will be pushing both women to victory.

"I love adventure and I want to see how far we can push ourselves," says Pamela, a professional dancer and assistant dance choreographer.

Surprising enough, elder sister Vanessa admits to being the more timid one compared to Pamela, who she describes as more outgoing. In fact, Vanessa credits Pamela for saving her life once, when out for a drive one evening, their friend fell asleep at the wheel. It was Pamela who woke up and alerted the driver, but not before the car began spinning out of control. It was also Pamela's idea that they both take part in the race. Of course, it was an idea that Vanessa jumped at as it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

"Plus I love traveling and love an adventure. I was to see how far I can push myself in different situations," says Vanessa. For Pamela, choosing her sister as a partner was an easy choice to make as "she's always been there for me.".

In anticipation of the grueling experience, the sisters started increasing their workout sessions and also developed strategies, such as deciding who would be a better fit for the different tasks dished out in the show. But as Pam puts it, there is only so much you can account for especially when watching someone performing a task on television and having to tackle it head on.

"Each task and situation varies so vastly that you can't seem to apply a strategy that you've learnt from a prior task," she notes.

And also expect a certain mean streak inherent in the sisters but not in the way one can expect. The sisters have perfected an evil, insidious laugh, and coupled with the fact that their voices are identical, it certainly bumps up the scare factor when they laugh in unison.

In other words, when the two are laughing together, the other teams better be on the lookout.

Declaration form: These fetching Eurasian siblings are more than meets the eye. Vanessa is an artist manager. Pamela is a professional dancer. They have perfected an evil laugh, which "when coupled with their identical voices" sounds freaky when they laugh in unison.

I was amazed by these intrepid travelers trying to make up time by using the brakedown lane. The last Amazing Race team to try that extensively was Colin and Christie and they paid for it with a flat tire which ended their lsat catch to catch up in AR5.

The sisters had continual navigational problems throughout ARA2. They were comfortable only when they were leaving the driving to a taxi driver.

Thursday October 16, 2008Talents on show in TalentimeBy AZHARIAH KAMIN

Yasmin Ahmad’s latest offering, Talentime, features new faces and even some song and dance sequences.

You only need to spend a few minutes talking to prolific director Yasmin Ahmad to notice her fascination with people.

It’s no wonder her previous offerings (Rabun, Sepet, Gubra, Mukhsin and Muallaf) have all revolved around human dramas, with characters that most people can relate to.

Yasmin’s keen eye for detail and her understanding of the human psyche are also evident in the numerous commercials she has helmed, for which she has won numerous accolades. Just last week, Yasmin’s Japanese film project Wasurenagusa (or “Forget-Me-Not”, produced by Japan’s Wa Entertainment) won the US$20,000 (RM70,120) Pusan Award at the 2008 Pusan International Film Festival. The project is about a Malay girl who goes to visit her relatives in Japan after her Japanese grandmother dies.

Yasmin’s stories - be they happy, funny or heart-rending - have the ability to tug at one’s heartstrings. It’s this knack for drawing audiences into her little world that makes one eagerly await Yasmin’s next project.

Her sixth offering, Talentime, has been slated for screening later this year. A joint-venture between Primeworks Studio and Chilli Peppers, Talentime is a simple tale about a school talent competition. It explores growing up and the challenges the students have to face.

“To be the best, you have to go through a lot of struggles, just like a lotus which has to survive in harsh conditions,” says Yasmin about the movie’s message. Buddhist teachings often refer to the lotus flower that grows out of the mud and blossoms above the muddy water surface as an example for people to rise above their suffering. “I don’t like to show only the pain and struggle in my movies; I like to show hope as well,” says Yasmin.

“My previous movies were about relationships, but now I’m dealing with a talentime that means a lot of music and dancing.”

While Yasmin seemed to favour certain actors in the past (Sharifah Amani, for example, could well be termed her muse), Talentime features a number of fresh faces including Pamela Chong (one half of the Strong Chongs from The Amazing Race Asia 2) who plays leading role Melor, and another newcomer, Mahesh Jugal Kishore.

Yasmin added that when the two met during rehearsals “the chemistry was electric”.

Other stars include Mohd Syafie Naswip, who made his debut performance in Mukhsin, Malaysian Idol Jaclyn Victor and veteran actress Azean Irdawaty.

“I always find it interesting working with fresh talents as they are honest, interesting and dynamic.”

As Yasmin tells it, Talentime is a story about family and a talent competition in a school.

“There’s a lot of ‘mud’ in these stories, from which blossoms the most beautiful lotus,” she explains, adding that she had to rewrite the script several times since rehearsals began.

Expect to see a range of emotions being played on screen from love and friendship to suspicion and hatred. Hopes will get dashed, that’s for sure, and there’ll be plenty of rivalry, friction and of course, some romance thrown into the mix. It’s a co-ed school, after all.

“After featuring Malay and Chinese families in my previous movies, I decided to focus on Indian and Eurasian families this time.”

Yasmin says that one of the unique qualities of her movies is that it features characters of all races.

“For me, it is strange to see only Malays in a movie because in our daily lives we interact with other races, that’s who we are every day.

“I don’t like films that preach. I just tell what I feel on screen. I leave it to viewers to make their own interpretations. As a filmmaker, I am just asking questions, I don’t use my films to make judgments.”

Filming for the movie just wrapped up in Ipoh recently.

“I prefer outstation locations compared to Kuala Lumpur, and I know Ipoh well. Once the cast members were all here in Ipoh, we lived like a family, we ate together and stayed at a cheap hotel. And at the end of shooting, tears were flowing because we had to part ways,” she says.

What the actors say

Pamela Chong, 24, (Melor)

“It used to be just a dream to act in a movie!

“It all started when I tagged along with my mother (Susan Ann Chong) for a meeting with Yasmin. Being a fan, I wanted to meet her in person. Yasmin asked me whether I knew any girls of mixed parentage. Then she asked my age and asked me to turn up for audition.